


Short Circuit

by LokiDoki720



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emira is chaotically insane, F/F, Idk if this is slowburn or fastburn...Mediumburn? Is that a thing??, Idk it's mediumburn I guess, Inspired off a lovely person's art, Mad Scientists, Viney is a robot, btw theres a chapter where Emira clones herself and done goofs and makes Edric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiDoki720/pseuds/LokiDoki720
Summary: Mad Scientist, Emira Blight, feeling tired of the suffocating loneliness of being introverted and possibly insane, decides to make herself a companion, only for things to go a little haywire.Inspired by a friend of mine, wish I had the creativity to come up with this idea on my own lol
Relationships: Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

The wrench in her hand dared her to try and further tighten the bolt. Emira grunted, trying to twist it further, only for the bolt to break off and Emira to jolt towards the surface of the table she was using to prop the robot on. Her head hit the metal table with a dull thunk, she hissed and rubbed the spot on her head, looking over at the broken bolt. She cursed under her breath and stood up straight, examining the android she was currently spending all of her money and time on. It wasn’t her fault she was lonely, people were just too sensitive about the topic of science.

Unless that topic of science was something more normal like geology. Emira was more interested in things like genetic splicing, cloning, androids, lasers...Things like that. Typical mad lab scientist things. 

Emira looked at the unbuilt part of the android- Viney’s- Body. A steel endoskeleton jutted out from the unfinished metal plating, wires intertwining with the metal rods and plates, acting like Viney’s artificial nervous system. Emira looked over at the rubbery plastic mass next to her, what would be the android’s skin. If she wanted company, she might as well try and make them as human as she could, to try and ebb away the fact she built them. She looked at the robot, shut off, and stared at the ground with a dead glare. 

The android’s glossy green eyes, carefully crafted using an actual human eye as an example (don’t ask where she got it), looked dead as they should but strangely so full of future life at the same time. She noticed something off with the wiring on one of the eyes, one of the wires was loose. She reached over, grabbing a pair of tweezers and grabbing the eye gingerly with two fingers.

She carefully reconnected the wire into it’s given port, and watched as the eye’s pupil suddenly constricted, a muted tone escaping the robot’s mouth as it jerked, trying to move its arm and head. Emira stared at it as its uncoordinated movements sent some parts of its delicate machinery flying across the room. She shrieked, hopping on the balls of her feet as she let the eye go and, just barely, caught a joint that kept Viney’s arm from moving too wildly. She looked up at the robot, who was jerking her head away from the bright, fluorescent lamp.

Oh..Right. She thought, standing up and dimming the lamp as the robot beside her whirred and shrieked intelligible sounds, beeps and clicks, attempts at communicating when she had nothing to communicate with...not yet at least. The robot settled, adjusting to the light better.

Emira stared at her transfixed for a couple moments, then a wicked grin broke out across her face. She had done it, sure the robot had not been completed, but knowing it’s reactions now was a huge step in the right direction.

The next step? Eyelids. 

~~~

Emira screwed in the last screw, it took some time and minor protesting from the surprisingly stubborn robot for her to finish the metal plating of her body, and finally add the voice box that she was sure Viney’s was all too frustrated in not having. She moved away, Viney watching her. Ever since Emira had accidentally turned her on when fixing her eye, the robot kept a close eye on her. 

“Try testing out your voice.” She said, grabbing the mass of rubber plastic she had cut and molded into various bits, matching certain aspects of the body. The funnest part about molding Viney’s synthetic skin? Studying a real human body (again, don’t ask), and noting that each area of skin was intrinsically different than the last, especially in the area head and hands, where touch was just a little more sensitive than the rest of the body. 

Viney was staring forward into nothing, concentrating. Of course, it didn’t help that Emira hadn’t added her synthetic muscles yet, so she couldn’t make out an expression against the near skeletal metal face. In truth, the metal plating didn’t need to be put on Viney’s body, her endoskeleton would’ve been enough, but she didn’t want to take risks of the most fragile part of the robot being damaged in any way, were she to accidentally hurt herself. 

She stared at Viney for a moment, although not complete she knew what she was going to look like. Long, wavy brown hair, rosy cheeks, a warm and welcoming smile, maybe a little bit on the bulky side in terms of muscular appearance, short. Natural amenities to a person, wouldn’t make Viney stand out from the crowd. Emira didn’t want to make a perfect assistant like the robots you see in the movies with their perfect features, glossy shine and little natural attributes to a living thing, she just wanted a friend. 

Emira was caught off guard when Viney had suddenly let out a...noise. It was more like a strangled whimper than anything. Emira cocked an eyebrow towards the robot and she grabbed her neck with her thin hand. Sloth of her brows shot up when she realized that Viney was trying to tell her something was wrong.

She stood up, walking over and leaned forward to fix the problem. One of the screws was looser than the other. She tightened it, and with no warning, Viney let out a loud “Finally!” Which sent Emira stumbling back a couple steps in surprise. The robot turned her gaze towards her “I was trying to get your attention for five minutes!” She brought her hands up, making a couple hand gestures to match her tone. 

Emira really couldn’t believe it. She had managed to at least successfully recreate the temporal and frontal lobe of the brain. Not only was Viney speaking in a manner that tipped Emira off to her being a little annoyed, using her hands as a way of impacting her own speech, it was pretty apparent just from the one sentence she was starting to form a personality. One she hoped wouldn’t be too abrasive. 

“This- This..” She scratched the back of her head for a moment before remembering that Viney told her something was wrong “Wait a minute, you felt the loose screw?” She asked, her mind changing off the topic of “Booyah baby! That’ll show you, stupid grant judges!” Viney stared at her, still with that expressionless stare “It was more of...I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t talk until I figured it was just something wrong with my- Uh…” Viney trailed off and Emira chimed in “Voice box...Are you aware you’re a robot?” She had to ask the question. 

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” The robot stared back at her, the scientist couldn’t take looking at the empty face any longer. She looked over at the carefully crafted rubber plastic muscles sitting next to the mass of synthetic flesh. She grabbed a hold of it and started to work away at adding it to Viney’s body, starting at the face, obviously. 

She had to painstakingly wire Viney’s artificial nervous system into the muscles, which wasn’t hooked up to Viney’s brain in any way yet, but she still heard small grunts of protest when she had to bend the robot awkwardly to place the muscles and weave the wiring inside. It didn’t take as much time as she thought it would to place the muscles on the body. Maybe a couple hours at best...Emira didn’t really keep track of time when she was working. 

Next, came the skin, which was far easier as it was just slide on, weave the synthetic nerves in, and then just glue it onto the separated parts so they wouldn’t weirdly split when bending. When she was working on the face, she had to hold back her giggles as she had not molded in Viney’s hair yet. She pulled away, examining her own work for a moment, feeling proud of herself yet again, then turning her head to the side, revealing an area where she hadn’t placed synthetic muscle or skin on yet, just barely above Viney’s artificial eyes, and about two fingers wide. She pulled out fingernail’s length plastic port, where all the wires running across Viney’s body came to be bound into the same outlet. 

She then attached the port to what was essentially a crude version of the parietal lobe. Viney jolted, of course suddenly being able to feel should warrant that reaction. Emira then placed a hand on Viney’s shoulder “This is going to hurt a bit.” She said, which made Viney swivel her head. “Hurt?” She asked, to which Viney had just been promptly ignored as Emira then started weaving some synthetic nerves into the muscle she was about to attach to Viney’s head. Viney let out a strangled noise and jerked away “What are you doing that-“ Emira smiled and finished her sentence “Hurt?” 

Viney furrowed her brow, and nodded “Yes..It hurt.” She responded, to which Emira just shrugged “I did warn you,” The scientist promptly moved Viney back in place while she finished up the muscle. Viney winced and cringed the entire time, not enjoying the feeling of skin being attached to her now feeling body, which sucked by the way. When she was done, it took a moment for the burning bloom of pain in the side of her head to subside and be replaced by something different, it wasn’t like pain, it was just uncomfortable. It made her feel stiff and it sort of tingled uncomfortably where it was worse, around her forearms and cheeks. 

Emira walked over to Viney and offered her something. She couldn’t make out what it was but it was square and looked soft. “You might be cold, so put these on.” She offered, placing the square, soft things in Viney’s lap. She stared at them confusedly, how was she going to put them on exactly? She picked one of the squares up, true to its looks it was soft and malleable. She was surprised when it suddenly unfolded in her hand, and thought that this would definitely be wearable. Emira chuckled in the background and Viney looked up at her with a sneer.

“You could help, you know. I don’t know what these are!” Emira waved her hand dismissively and walked over to the robot, rolling the shirt up, the way you would when dressing a toddler. “Lift your arms.” She told her, Viney obeyed and raised her arms, letting Emira place the shirt over her head and slip through the armholes with minimal resistance “Now, do you need help with the pants or do I need to help you with that too?” She asked, Viney replied with a look of confusion. Emira sighed “Pants. They go on your legs.” Viney mouthed an ‘o’ and looked down at the second piece of cloth. 

She unfolded it, almost accidentally putting them on backwards when Emira corrected her. Emira smiled at her warmly, then turned towards the wig on the counter “Alright, sit still for a moment.” Viney pressed her mouth into a line and obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Emira moved around back and, after multiple adjusting, glued the wig onto Viney’s head. When she was finished with the small task, Viney looked almost normal- Except she didn’t have eyebrows yet. 

Emira snickered to herself as she practically slapped on the eyebrows, which made Viney jerk back a bit. She rubbed her forehead, then glared at Emira “You didn’t have to hit me!” She exclaimed. Emira laughed into her hand, and Viney glared at her. Emira then took a hold of the robot’s hands and pulled, she lurched forward then off the table she was sitting on previously. She fell forward onto Emira, who steadied her as best as she could. Viney had to take a couple moments to steady herself, standing was not her forte at the moment as she had zero idea of what to do. 

Eventually she steadied out, finding her balance, however she insisted on holding Emira’ hands just in case she fell over again.

Which she did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emira takes Viney to a grant meeting.

Emira moved around the house, pacing slightly while Viney stared at her from behind. She had been tense all day and Viney couldn’t pinpoint why, Emira wasn’t really talking to her. Viney assumed she was in some sort of mental stupor, and just needed to wane it off on her own time. It had been a couple days since she was given life, and it didn’t take long to notice her small ticks.

Whenever Emira was distressed or overworked, she dove herself further into her work. Why she did it was anyone’s guess, especially Viney’s. When she was worried about something she’d work, work on anything, even if it was something as stupid and simple as a laser holder for a non-existent cat. Emira hasn’t quite gotten used to Viney being her house guest, so whenever the scientist felt lonely, straight into meaningless work. Feeling down? Work. Frustrated about something? Write an essay about the fundamental flaws of the government then work.

It was a pattern, whenever Emira was feeling something she didn’t enjoy, she dove straight into working but...Being in an unresponsive stupor while nervously pacing back and forth in the living room was new to Viney. The robot felt something, a sort of nagging to get up and pat her shoulder, get her to sit down and watch some tv to take her mind off things. However, she couldn’t quite pinpoint why, why she wanted to offer any semblance of comfort when she already knew that Emira was perfectly fine comforting herself. 

It was weird. 

She didn’t understand it.

So she promptly ignored the nagging, simply turning around and taking in her surroundings, since this was the first time that Emira had taken her to the actual living part of her lab. The green-haired scientist had practically barged into Viney’s concrete room, the room she was made in, and grabbed the robot by the arm. She was muttering something to herself while pulling the robot out of the room and up a cold steel stairwell, dim white light pouring from above. Viney hadn’t been accustomed to anything other than the sickly yellow light from the lamp in the little cold stone hole she was built in, so she promptly used her hand to block out the sudden wave of light.

Then she found herself standing in a cozy little area, Emira letting go of Viney’s hand and moving into what Viney assumed was her bathroom. The scientist talked about it once, in a conversation about what was in a house so that Viney would know what to expect. The home looked nice, aesthetic wise. The walls were a muted terracotta orange, lined with various paintings of people she was sure that Emira didn’t actually know. A large bed was centered on the northern wall, it was nice, white sheets, blankets and pillows decorated the bed and on either side of the bed was side-table, one topped with a muted rouge lamp and the other with what Viney assumed was a digital clock. She directed her eyes over to the end of the bed. Potted plants lined the sides of an eloquent dark brown dresser, why it caught Viney’s attention, she’ll never know. She looked over at Emira, then back at the dresser. 

She ran a hand over the smooth varnish, enjoying the new feeling. The dresser had a lacey, square dressing cover, in the center was a framed picture of the scientist herself, smiling like she was the happiest girl alive. She cradled someone in her arms, a smaller girl who Viney didn’t recognize. She had the scientist’s signature golden amber eyes and pale skin, and was throwing her head back in laughter, one eye clamped shut with how hard she was laughing. The stranger had short, brown hair pulled into a half ponytail, although she could barely call it that as it was coming undone in the photo. The dark black cloak she was wearing draped around her shoulders elegantly, the neck nicely rimmed with gold embroidery, and wore a cap of similar quality.

A flat square top, and a small golden rope hung off the side. Weird hat.

She picked up the photo and examined it further, the girl was holding something tightly in one hand, and it looked like some sort of formal paper, a small blue ribbon hanging off the far right side. Emira looked really happy, Viney catching the pride in her amber eyes as she held the smaller girl in her arms. The robot felt an odd feeling well in her chest at the sight of the scientist so happy and proud of the girl she didn’t know. She heard a door open and turned to see that Emira had changed her clothes, she wore a blue t-shirt and a nice pair of black khakis, paired with black dress shoes. The scientist’s one frizzy braid was down, and was rebrushed neatly. 

She still held the picture in her hand, and once the green-haired girl took notice, she snatched the photo from Viney’s hand and gingerly placed it on the dresser, almost exactly where it had been before. The robot reeled back in surprise at the sudden action and turned to Emira “What was that for?” She asked, it was a genuine question and not a quip, unlike the many other times she had asked that question.

“I...You- T-That picture just means a lot to me, okay? I don’t want you or anyone to mess with it.” Emira explained in a rushed response as she turned towards a wardrobe, equally as dark as the dresser and decorated with golden knobs. Viney secretly internalized that response, deeply noting to make sure no one but Emira got near the photo of her and the girl. Why? She had not the slightest clue. 

Still, her curiosity got the better of her. “Who is the girl with you?” She asked, while it was a relatively simple question, Emira seemed to cease her movement and tense, the same way she would when she was caught off-guard by a hard question. She looked over her shoulder at Viney and ran a hand through her long hair, contemplating. Viney couldn’t understand why the question was so hard to answer for her, but a feeling ebbed her way into her as if she shouldn’t have asked the question in the first place. 

“She’s...She’s my sister. Her name is Amity.” Viney looked at the photo again, crossing her arms. “Why do you have a picture of her?” The robot looked back at Emira who just shook her head “It’s not important.” Viney didn’t believe that and explicitly voiced that “Right. You just keeps a picture of her in what I assume is your bedroom for the hell of it...Why not your pare-“

“I said it’s not important, Viney! Just drop it, please!” Emira cut her off, her voice shrill as she practically screamed at the robot. Viney threw up her hands, that feeling returning again, but she promptly ignored it in favor of wandering out of the bedroom. She was met with a rather short hallway, only two other doors dotted the hallway, along with the occasional painting. The lights weren’t on in the hallway, so it was easy to find the downstairs from the light pouring out from the west end of the hallway. 

She grabbed the railing and started climbing downstairs, looking around the quaint house. The walls were a different shade of orange, a little lighter than it was in Emira’s room. She looked around and spotted a nice cream brown couch and walked to it. It was soft, a nice feeling on her hands. She smiled to herself and looked in front of her, a coffee table in front of her. It was the same dark oak color, sporting a table cloth and a cactus plant centered in the middle of the table. A couple scattered coasters laid on the table. Why she was so intent on dotting every detail of the house in front of her would remain a mystery only solvable by her own curiosity.

She peeled her eyes off examining the table, and looked forward at the flatscreen tv in front of her, just now noticing it was still blaring a show, a small message in the corner, reading ‘mute’. She didn’t know what it was about but promptly looked around, finding a black rectangular box with multiple buttons on it. She pressed the one she assumed was audio related, and was immediately met with two characters on screen screaming at each other for some reason she didn’t have the context for to understand.

So she watched to understand. 

Then Emira had come down, dawning her lab coat and fancy wear, her hair freshly braided and began pacing wildly, leaving the robot confused for a moment before a newer feeling replaced the confusion in her chest. She didn’t want to admit to feeling it, like all feelings outside the basic happy, sad, confused, Viney didn’t understand them and therefore ignored them. It wasn’t worth treading into possibly dangerous territory. 

But...She didn’t really like this strange new pattern of behavior with Emira. It was...Something. Viney promptly stood up, walking over to the scientist, only for her to throw her arms around the robot and bury her face into her synthetic hair. Why she made Viney shorter than her she’ll never know. She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood there, arms suspended in the air while Emira hugged her. She’d never felt something so warm, but then again the scientist had rarely touched her. 

She lifted her arms and snaked them around the scientist’s waist, kind of unsure on what to do at the moment. She pressed her face into the crook of her neck, and stood entangled with Emira for a moment before the scientist quickly shoved herself off Viney. The leave was so sudden and left Viney’s arms suspended in the air, as if she was waiting on Emira to return to her arms.

She lowered her arms, watching as the scientist turned towards the tv and shut it off. Once that Emira left she felt a weird absence, she enjoyed that closeness and warmth, and now that it was gone she wanted it back. She turned to see Emira suddenly grabbing her hand and pulling her to a door on the far side of room. Her hand hovered at the door knob for a moment, then she turned to face Viney.

“I’m about to introduce you to the outside world, but I need you to be quiet for a while. I’m taking you to see some people.” She grabbed the door knob and opened it, revealing a dark world outside littered with street lights and houses painted in the artificial white light. She was pulled onto the porch, a wave of cold suddenly washing over her body. She shivered, and got a little closer to Emira, trying to soak in whatever warmth she had to offer, their hands still laced together. 

Aside from the cold, Viney took a moment to look around. Everything that wasn’t illuminated by the yellow porch light were coated in shades of grey, a silence filling the greyscale of the world with unfamiliar chirping. The outside world was...strange. The outside of Emira’s house not looking all that decorative as it had inside, still sporting that terracotta orange, and now a weird metal wall with cracks in it on the east side of her view. Viney looked around at other houses, and all had one small variant that made them just a little different than the other. Then she looked up at the sky. 

How she loved that decision.

The sky, painted in hues of dark violet and indigos. Across the sky, it was gently painted with little white or yellow dots, flickering and twinkling across the sea of purples and blues. Then her eyes landed on the silvery-white orb in the sky, Emira had talked about how she loved to stargaze, how she loved the full moon, and now she knew what she meant. She felt her hand suddenly get squeezed and she turned to see Emira looking at her with a smile “See what I mean?” She asked

Viney nodded, looking back up at the night sky with a smile. She could stare at it all night if she could.

But she couldn’t.

Because in the next second Emira was pulling her along into a...Well a something. She couldn’t completely describe what it was, all she knew was that it was white and had multiple windows, wheels and comfortable looking seats. Viney sat into the seat she was being shoved into, squeaking in surprise as Emira had pulled the door open to place her in. Then she reached across Viney’s lap and tugged at a sort of flat rope with a shiny thing at the end of it. It practically pinned Viney to the seat, and she moved around, finding out that it was malleable.

A click sounded beside her and she saw the scientist climb into the seat next to her, promptly closing the door and pulling out something from her pocket, inserting it into a hole and turning it. The thing Viney was sitting it growled to life, lights flickering on, and she squeaked again, grabbing the surface in front of her in panic. Emira laughed and placed a hand on Viney’s shoulder “Hey, it’s okay. This is a car, they do this. It’s not going to hurt you.” The robot looked up at her skeptically, but noticing the relaxed look in her eyes, she relaxed as well.

The car started moving, and she looked over at Emira, still a little nervous. She’d been introduced to so many new things today, and if she was given one more thing to swallow, she was sure she was going to implode. The scientist didn’t take her eyes off the road, a hand placed firmly on the wheel in front of her, the other in her lap nonchalantly. Viney had to resist the urge to reach over, take hold of it, so it could bring her some semblance of comfort. 

It was a quiet ride, and eventually Emira reached over to twist a nob on the surface, a small screen blinking to life and squealing static. Viney immediately freaked out, letting out a scream, while Emira laughed, flipping through the audios rapidly before it settled on something more pleasant. Viney snapped her gaze over at the scientist, who was still cackling like she had just heard he best joke in the world.

“You could’ve at least given, oh I don’t know, a warning?!” She yelled, crossing her arms, tears from the frustration and sudden anxiety pricking at her eyes. Emira did a double-take, slowing the car to look over at Viney, staring at her with her mouth hanging open slightly. Viney wiped her eyes “What?” She asked curtly, only warranting the scientist to smile broadly.

“So the tear ducts work? You can cry?” She asked eagerly, Viney gave her a puzzled look and untangled her arms. “Cry?” She asked, her initial mood shifting as Emira brought on a new subject that the robot was interested in learning about “Crying… When your eyes water like they just did.” She said, then sped up the car again. Viney mouth “oh” and leaned back in the seat. She looked out the window at the blurred shapes moving around them.

“So...Why’d you introduce me to so many new things at once? I mean, its all pretty and interesting but its also really new to me, and I have a lot of questions.” Emira side-glanced at her then sighed “Because I’m in a bit of a rush, I’ll answer your questions when I can, but right now I have a lot on my plate, and some of that stuff involves you.” She answered, something ebbing at her tone that Viney didn’t recognize. 

“Why does it involve me?” She asked, peeling her eyes away from the window to look at Emira. “You’re...Very important, Viney. You’re a scientific breakthrough, the first of your kind and for me? That’s a huge deal. For a lot of people it is, actually. I was able to create you from nothing but my own mind, your mind building itself like it would with an actual person...Which at this point you technically are. You think, you act, you have questions...And some people want to meet you, meet me, give me money so I can further my research and make more things like you.” She explained, again side-glancing Viney expectantly.

Viney felt a rush go through her when she heard she was special. It made her smile, and she liked that. Emira noticed and smiled too, then looked forward again. Viney leaned back in her seat. She watched the blurred greys and whites brush past the window at high speed and found herself becoming entranced by it, the noises on the radio helping her become locked into a sort of trance within her own head. 

The noise made her think of strokes of orange and yellow, messes of the colors painted the sky in her mind, the moon brightly shining across the brightly lit sky. She imagined what a bird would look like, fluttering across the sky in aimless search of nothing. White clouds she heard Emira talk about popped into her head, she imagined a white, floating gently in the sky and being painted by hues of yellows. The entire scene nearly lolled the robot to sleep, if it wasn’t for the sudden jolting of the car stopping abruptly. 

Viney was knocked out of her stupor, looking around wildly for Emira, but she was absent from the stilled car. Then she heard the door next to her click and open, the scientist’s arm reaching over to unbuckle Viney and lead her out of the car. She looked around, her surroundings looking almost unwelcoming. The building in front of them was essentially a block, it reached a good while across the yard it was strewn across, windows dotting the walls and yellow lights pouring out to mix with the white light of the lamps surrounding them. 

The ground was grey and stoney, lined with strange parallel white lines. Emira held onto Viney’s hand, and the robot pressed close to her, not quite trusting the place. The scientist giggled “You’re so much like a child, sometimes…” She muttered, which caught Viney’s curiousity once more, but before she could ask, Emira waved her hand “I’ll tell you after the meeting, okay?” She offered Viney a reassuring smile, and she nodded slowly before being dragged forward towards some doors made of glass. 

Emira pushed them open, ushering Viney inside and into a nearby seat. It was scratchy and uncomfortable and Viney assuredly hated it. Emira walked over to a mahogany desk, where a woman sat. The two began to chatter, and Viney paid no mind to it, looking around her and shifting uncomfortably in the seat.

The room she was in was new, strange. The desk seemed to occupy some of the area, but the rest was occupied by the same scratchy chairs, back to back and in parallel rows, only three stretched across the room. The ground was different, a softer, and blue material lining the floor. A potted plant was perched at the end of the row she was sitting in and a table as well. She looked over at Emira who leaned away from the woman and was making her way over to Viney. 

“Made it just in time, and no wait, so you don’t have to sit. So, come on.” She promptly grabbed the robot’s wrist and lead her to adjacent doors off to the far side of the room. The woman called over to her “Ma’am, you can’t bring a person to present to the judges, unless you have a reason.” She stated, sounding bored. Emira smiled at her and motioned to Viney, still moving to the doors “She is my invention!” She yelled back at her, and before the lady could respond, she promptly walked straight through the doors, being met with a long, winding hallway of reapeating doors. Viney was nearly dizzied by it. 

Emira led her to a particular door, and made her way inside. The room wasn’t as large as the last one she was in, in fact it was about as big as the living room at Emira’s house. Except it had white walls, the same blue floor, a tan desk, three of those scratchy chairs from the lobby, and three people sitting behind the desk, shuffling papers around. 

One of them, a male with brown hair, green eyes and odd circular glasses looked up. He wore a grey suit with a red tie and looked rather disinterested. He intertwined his hands “Emira Blight. You haven’t seen us in a while...You said you have successfully duplicated the human brain and recreated the first artificial human?” Emira nodded proudly, sitting Viney down in the chair. 

They took one look at her, then at Emira, then collectively let out exasperated sighs. Emira pressed her lips together, her hands on Viney’s shoulder as the man in the middle pinched the bridge of his nose, removing his glasses. “Dr. Blight...That is just a human woman...No robot can look..like that.” The man gestured to Viney, and she tilted her head, twisting to look up at Emira, only to see her eyes narrowed dangerously at the man. 

“I’m telling you the truth, Dr. Burns. I promise, she is an artificial life-form.” Emira looked at him, something in her voice made Viney shiver. Then she looked over at Dr. Burns, who was shaking his head “Dr. Blight, you are brilliant, we’ve seen what you can do but bringing some woman in and claiming her to be a robot is...Well it’s just sad.” He said. Viney didn’t like the tone he was taking on with Emira, the way he was addressing her. 

“She’s not lying, I am a robot.” Viney said. Dr. Burns rolled his eyes “Ma’am, whatever sum of money she’s paying you to do this, it’s just not worth it.” He said flatly, motioning for Viney to leave. But she didn’t. She looked between Emira and the man. She felt the grip on her shoulders tighten “Dr. Burns I assure you she is a robot, I’ve spent months building her and-“ Mr. Burns cut her off with a wave of his hand, and pointed a pen accusingly at her.

“Dr. Blight, you are extremely brilliant, amazingly so, but your methods of creating what you create are sometimes downright illegal. This woman here, wether you are paying her or have brainwashed her in some form, which I do not doubt you actually did, should not be apart of your silly plot to get money out of us. No matter how extremely smart you are, creating a robot this advance is simply impossible, now please stop-“ Emira cut him off with a yelp “Dr. Burns please, she is-“ The man promptly rose out of his seat, his voice raised.

“As much as want to sit here and humor you, Doctor Blight, there is no way in the name of everything logical that this woman was your creation, was actually an android, I would still have to be worried about the lengths you went too to procure materials as expensive as internal wiring and metal,” He paused and narrowed his gaze, his tone becoming hard “This is why Dr. Victor Frankenstein is spoken about in common academia, he serves as a warning to all scientists, inexperienced or not. You muddy the line between science and blasphemy half the time that its hard to even consider you for anything, to even bring you in here is a blessing for you, Dr. Blight.” He stopped briefly and stood straight.

“You are again denied your grant, not only for presenting a false creation, but for giving us a glimpse into that twisted mind of yours.” He practically hissed the last of his words, and Viney had had enough. She narrowed her eyes at the man, then stood up, and promptly snapped her own arm. 

All three judges gawked and one screamed at the way Viney’s arm bent, Emira gasped in surprise and Viney looked at the man with narrowed eyes. Sure, the pain coursing through her arm was unbearable, but she wouldn’t have her- whatever Emira was to her- be talked to like that any longer. She looked over at the metal and the wiring sticking through her arm and nonchalantly showed it to Dr. Burns, as if she was challenging him.

“Do I seem human to you now, Dr. Burns?” She remarked, watching as the scientist stared in awe at Viney. “H-How…Dr. Blight how in…” He looked at Emira expectantly. She just smiled and crossed her arms, completely forgetting Viney’s state for a second “You doubt me too much, Dr. Burns.” She said sweetly. The man quickly wrote down on his paper below him.

“...You are granted the money, Dr. Blight. I seems I spoke a little too soon.” He said hurriedly, looking like he had more too say “Now, please fix your creation. This is...We have much to discuss later.” He stated as Emira beamed, pulling Viney out of the room, the meeting ending promptly. Viney collapsed in the hallway, letting out a muffled scream. 

Emira knealt down and examined the damage “Never do that again, dumbass.” She chuckled, prodding the area. Viney grunted in pain, watching as Emira just snapped the metal back into place “I’ll have to take a better look at it when we get home…” She looked up at Viney with a smile “You didn’t have to do that.” Viney looked over at her, the pain she was feeling previously was numbed now, a thrumming heat coursing through her arm. 

“I didn’t like how he was talking to you.” She said, standing up. Emira giggled softly “Why? It’s not like I’m all that important to you. I’m just your caretaker and creator.” She crossed her arms and looked at Viney. The robot nudged Emira “C’mon, you know you’re more than that to me.” The scientist smiled cheekily and nudged her back “Oh yeah? What am I to you, then?” 

Viney felt something pulse through her again, and she looked away embarrassedly. “I don’t know.” She muttered, then felt a hand sit on her shoulder. Redirecting her gaze, she looked up at the green-haired scientist. “I’m your friend, aren’t I?” She asked, another strange emotion ebbing in her voice she didn’t recognize. Viney thought it over, then nodded. 

“You’ve only known me for a few days.” She said, recrossing her arms. Viney smiled to her “Technically, that’s my entire life, Emira.” She never reffered to Emira using her name, but in this moment she felt complelled to for some reason. Emira’s face flushed a little, from what emotion was anyone’s guess. She chuckled, grabbing onto Viney’s wrist and leading her through the building and back to the car. 

When she was climbing into the car, Emira, not looking up or facing Viney “I’m glad I made you, Viney. As much as you act like a dumb kid, sometimes I forget you’re a robot. You’re really the perfect companion.” Viney looked over at her, and she closed the door. 

“What do you mean, Em?” The scientist’s face flushed, probably at the unprompted way Viney was now casually using a nickname for her. “Well you...You’re like the perfect friend. You’re loyal, expressive, a bit quiet, kind…Smart.” She backed out of he area she used to be parked in, and Viney felt another of that strange feeling pulse in her chest. 

“Is this a way of you saying that you like me, Em?” Emira laughed, and nodded “Yes, yes it’s my way of saying that I like you. Especially after that whole stunt you pulled for no reason other than you like me.” Viney chuckled and rested her arm on the door’s armrest.

The rest of the ride was filled with an affectionate quiet. Viney could’ve drowned in that feeling for the rest of her artificial life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my friend for giving the inspiration of Dr. Burns’ speech :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emira has a nightmare, a hot breakfast fixes it temporarily before someone comes knocking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note here, Viney can eat and digest food, but she doesn’t produce waste like humans due to the acid in her stomach being stronger than the acid in human stomachs.

Viney had a steely grip on the steering wheel of the car. Her jaw was clenched as hard as she could manage, and the scientist cackling next to her was not helping in any way. She furrowed her brow and shot her a look “You’re the one who decided to let the inexperienced robot drive a car!” She then directed her eyes back to the road in front of her.

Emira chuckled, looking over at the robot adoringly. Viney was truly her greatest creation, and a great friend. Despite the fact she was a robot, and that she regularly forgot that fact, Viney was easy to be around, warm and welcoming, kind and laid-back. 

Suddenly the car jerked to the side, and Emira was roughly slammed against her door-side window. She hissed in pain, and the car came to a jolting stop, again slamming the scientist forward, luckily not hitting anything as she pressed her palm to the side of her eye. Viney looked over at her, reaching over and gently taking her wrist to assess the damage. 

“I’m sorry there was a squirrel in the road, I didn’t want to hit it.” She turned Emira to face her and winced at the already forming bruise on the side of her head. She grazed her fingers over the spot and Emira flinched away from her hand “What? Why are you looking at me like that? It’s just a bruise.” She muttered, pressing her back into the seat and crossing her arms.

“It’s just that...I did that.” The scientist looked over at the robot, whose face was riddled with guilt and worry already. To say she didn’t feel butterflies at her friend’s worry would be a lie. She waved her hands around and chuckled nervously “Viney, it’s okay! I’ve had worse, also I bruise like a peach so even if I love-tapped the window I’d probably still get a black eye.” She smiled, trying to wane off the robot’s worry.

Why she suddenly needed to comfort the robot instead of thinking about how amazing it was that Viney felt remorse was another topic entirely. Viney glanced at her for a moment, as if waiting for Emira to give her the go-ahead. Which she did by patting her shoulder. 

The car pulled back into the road, Emira just now noticing that had pulled to the side in some shallow ditch. They were just outside their neighborhood, and Viney was doing a good job navigating the way back home, even though she’d only driven through the neighborhood twice. 

Emira looked out the window, watching houses whiz by and as the sun slowly began to set in the horizon, painting the houses in silhouettes and everything else in beautiful streaks of auburn and golden rays, filtering through the few trees and bushes in the streets. There was little reason to go outside unless it was to see the beautiful painted skies of night and sunset, watching velvety dusk paint over the amber skies in hues of indigos, and mixing with milky white dots of the brightest stars just appearing in the sky.

Of course night time was her favorite time of day. No one is ever up long enough to truly appreciate the night sky, and those who are, are too trapped under sheets and screens to take a moment to look outside, count the constellations and wait for shooting stars. 

The car came to a peaceful stop, and Emira refocused herself to look at the front door of her house. She reached around her waist and unbuckled herself, climbing out of the car, instinctively reaching for her house keys when she remembered that Viney had them. The night time silence allowed for the soft sound of Viney’s shoes hitting the pavement, and for the sound of jingling keys to be the loudest noise in the outside world.

Emira paused, this silence was unnatural. There were no birds, no crickets or night time critters singing their beautiful songs. No predator or human could cause this type of silence, and shivers ran up her spine, the sound was becoming deafening. She heard the door to her house open and Viney stepping inside.

She desperately clambered into the house, only to find that Viney wasn’t in the doorway with her, she was nowhere in sight. She shook her head, looking around for her mechanical companion, but she was nowhere to be seen. She looked over at her tv, noticing it was on and she had never turned it off. She looked around warily, spotting her keys on her kitchen counter. 

“Strange...Maybe Viney went to her room?” She muttered to herself, thinking out loud. She shut the door behind her and wandered into the living room, sitting down on the couch. The tv was muted. 

She sighed and tried looking for the remote, only to have her efforts be a fruitless waste. She shrugged it off, it wasn’t the first time she’d forgotten where the remote was and couldn’t find it...however the silence in the house was unnerving.

She wanted Viney with her. 

In the two weeks since the grant visit, they’d become close, almost inseparable. The robot was the only companion that she had and it was a nice, refreshing pace to have the bubbly roommate instead of suffocating loneliness. Hell, she’d even made up the guest room to Viney’s liking so she didn’t have to stay in that stuffy laboratory beneath her house. 

She smiled to herself, thinking about the many conversations they had in the two weeks. Viney learned quickly, and it was fun to work with her, especially when she taught the robot how to cook.

Emira climbed out of the laboratory, still dressed in her usual lab coat, black rubber gloves and goggles. She had been trying to successfully identify what made Viney so special when the artificial brain had blown up half the room and nearly got the scientist had she not been in the bathroom when it happened.

Late afternoon sun filtered in through her windows, and she felt the first pain of going without food since yesterday creep into her stomach. It grumbled impatiently, wanting to be satisfied by steak, potatoes and whatever greens she had, probably asparagus. She huffed and dejectedly climbed downstairs, although her arms ached from lifting and melding metal all day and just generally being tense when trying to wire the artificial brain correctly. 

She climbed downstairs, and noticed quickly that Viney was intently focused on the screen in front of her, watching some sort of action show. She smiled, walking over and tapping her shoulder, which startled her a little bit obviously, jumping a little at the touch and snapping her head in Emira’s direction. 

“Oh, hey Em. You startled me.” She smiled, and the scientist returned it with a tired version of her own. “You okay? I thought you were working?” She asked, which prompted the scientist to dramatically groan and flop her head onto the couch’s frame. She heard the robot giggle, and she cracked another smile at that.

“Could you make me dinner?” She asked, a bit unprompted. Viney scrunched her nose and crossed her arms “Why should I?” She asked defiantly. Emira smiled mischievously and poked her shoulder again, like she and her were a couple of middle-school girls, which was only truer by the next thing she said;

“Because you like me.” She smiled broadly, and the robot leaned back into the couch, twisting her head up to look at Emira with gentle eyes. She giggled softly and stood up “You’re lucky I do, otherwise I would just continue watching tv.” She walked into the kitchenette, rummaging around for a moment. 

It didn’t take long for the aroma of steak and potatoes to waft into the living room. The scientist couldn’t believe how kind the robot was to her half the time.

And that was the moment she decided to do something for her, but she didn’t know what, yet. 

Emira came out of the memory with a jolt, realizing that the tv had abruptly shut off. She looked around rapidly, looking for Viney again. She heard water rushing upstairs, someone had turned on the shower, breaking the inhuman silence of the house. Looking back to the tv, she just rationed that maybe she had sat on the remote and turned it off, but she wasn’t going to turn it back on. 

The reason why? Viney didn’t take showers. 

She didn’t need to. 

She climbed up the stairs, wondering what nut job decided to wander into her house and take a shower. She crept up on the bathroom door, steam already filtering out into the dark hallway and the welcoming warmth nearly tempting Emira to take a shower of her own after she kicked out the nutcase. 

She opened the already ominously cracked door, and looked inside to see that the shower was empty. The warm water running aimlessly for no one, and hitting the floor of the tub with peacefully rapid droplets. She furrowed her brow in confusion and turned off the shower, wondering why in the world it was on. 

She turned heel and walked out the bathroom, then looked over her shoulder at Viney’s room. Her door was eerily ajar, leaking out no light, but letting the little light from the hallway pour into her room. She became concerned, as Viney only slept when she had been feeling overwhelmed or overworked. She didn’t need that recharge as often as humans did. 

She gently pushed the door open, watching the light pouring into the room, and basking over the lump under Viney’s brown blanket, completely blotting her out from sight, except for the shape of her body. She bit her lip worriedly, and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe.

“Viney…?” She called out softly. It pierced the silence, she might as well have yelled that, because it was uncharacteristically loud for a whisper. Viney’s body jerked at the noise, and a grumble resounded as the lump shifted to turn away from the light as best she could. Emira rubbed the back of her neck and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the mattress and hesitantly placed a hand on the lump. 

“I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to push you today,” She paused, waiting for a response or a sign to stop but neither came so she continued anyway. “I just...I don’t…” She tried to find the words of why she wanted to teach Viney to drive, but she couldn’t find it anymore. She sighed and looked over at Viney again, only to find that the lump had vanished, Emira’s hand resting on nothing. 

She jerked off the bed, wondering how that was possible, how she didn’t feel Viney leave the bed. However, the room felt a little different, something was off about the bed, about the closet and the windows. She shuffled over to the light switch and flipped it, only to see the dreary surroundings and decorations that the guest room used to have. Before she gave the room to Viney. 

The room started to fill with the unnerving silence again, everything was dreary and quiet, filled with years of being untouched. Emira furrowed her brow again in confusion, backing out of the room. The silence only followed her into her own room. She felt alone, for the first time in a long time. 

The silence only persisted, the lights of the hallway and the guest room seeming to dim more and more as the unending night continued, not even the light of the moon had touched the windows with its soft angelic light. There was only darkness and silence, loud, unending silence that thrummed at Emira’s ears. 

She couldn’t leave the room, because there was nothing out there.

Yet, she didn’t want to stay because there was nothing there. 

So instead, she curled up on her bed and wrapped herself in the blankets that provided no warmth for her, nor ease her unnerving desire to just see her roommate’s eyes again, to hear her laugh break the silence. She wanted nothing more than her friend to tell her she was cooking dinner again, and talk with her about impossible equations and possible future projects.

But that friend never came, nor did light or sound. The darkness only cooled the room, leaving any trace of warmth to leave as silently as Viney had.

For once in her entire life, she felt the true weight of her own loneliness, the secret weight of this was what drove her to build her only friend. To save her from many more nights suffocating in nothing, hearing nothing but her own heart, and the coldness of nobody. 

She felt tears fall onto her pillow, and she closed her eyes, hoping like a child that it would end if she were to sleep. 

Emira’s eyes snapped open and she breathed in desperately, looking around wildly. She clambered out of bed, hoping whatever had happened last night was all a dream. She swung open her door, only to be halted by Viney’s door swung wide open and the sweet smell of pancakes wafting in from downstairs. She sighed a heavy sigh of relief as it washed over her, any doubt in the back of her mind completely melting away. 

She climbed downstairs, her hair a frizzled mess. She brushed her hair out of the way and looked over into the kitchenette, Viney was flipping a pancake as she looked in, warm early morning sun filtering in over the kitchen sink window. She felt the cold sting of her dream hit her like a truck, tears daring to break the surface. 

She wandered into the kitchen and hugged Viney from behind, a desperate attempt to make sure she was real. Viney squeaked, trying not to jump at the sudden affection. She chuckled and placed a hand on Emira’s arm just as the scientist buried her face into her shoulder, stifling her relieved sobs. Viney became alarmed, placing the pancake onto a plate and turning around to give Emira a proper hug.

The scientist held tightly onto her waist, refusing to let go, but the robot didn’t protest. Instead she ran a hand through the scientist’s hair in an effort to comfort her, which it did. “Em, are you okay? You’ve been doing this for the past three days, what’s up?” She asked softly, the scientist pulled away and wiped her tears “It’s just...Nightmares.” She muttered pathetically, moving away to go sit at the table. 

“What kind of nightmares?” Viney asked while cracking open an egg onto the still hot frying pan. Emira felt her face heat up and she fiddled with her hands. “N-Nothing.” She stuttered, cracking a fake smile in hopes that Viney wouldn’t question. Unfortunately, the robot did.

“C’mon...You can trust me.” She smiled as she set down Emira’s breakfast, sausages, eggs, and pancakes. Emira ran her hand through her hair, and weighed the options. On one hand, she could tell the robot she was having weird dreams of being so insufferably scared of losing her that it haunted her nightmares, on the other, she could tell her that she had the same recurring dream of a mad dog chasing her down the street.

She went with the former.

“Okay fine...It’s this stupid dream I’ve had since I was six. A rabid dog chasing me down a never-ending road.” She dug her fork into the eggs, watching the yolks leak onto the sausages. Viney chuckled, looking up at her and bouncing a sausage on her own fork. 

“A rabid dog, huh? Didn’t you tell me about this one dog who used to live in your neighborhood...Lucifer, right?” Emira’s brows shot up and she looked at the robot with a disbelieving chuckle “I cannot believe you remembered that, yes! He was this untrained rottweiler that our neighbors just decided to let loose whenever they wanted. I’m pretty sure the dog belonged to my little sister’s ex-friend, but oh my gosh he scared the ever-loving life out of me.” She took a bite of the pancakes, reminiscing about the time Lucifer tore up the yard in front of her house. 

“I’m guessing that’s the ‘mad dog’ you’re dreaming about.” She giggled, taking another bite of sausage. Emira nodded slowly “Yeah..Well I can’t actually see the dog in my dream, I just hear the bark. It’s really weird.” Viney shrugged, smiling “Just a thought. You really seemed to loathe that dog when telling me about it.” Emira nodded, shuddering dramatically.

“Because I do loathe that mutt. He kept me up all hours of the night, would literally hump our birdbath because they refused to neuter the damn thing, something about the husband being all like ‘well if I lost my balls yadda yadda’-“ She placed her hands on her hips, imitating a man she’d never seen “-and he would constantly get into our yard, one time he got into the house and managed to break into my father’s study and absolutely demolish everything in there. Books, important papers, projects? Gone, chewed to oblivion. And who gets the blame? Me and my sister.” 

Viney snorted a laugh, almost spitting her eggs out in the process. “I-I’m sorry, b-but your father sounds like an idiot.” Emira cackled, placing her fork down “Oh he is...You’d really think you’d suspect that the dog, who constantly comes into our yard and watches our habits, had just managed to get in. Me and Ams were doing schoolwork anyway, not like we’d been to the door.” 

Viney picked up Emira’s empty plate and hers, walking over to the kitchen sink, and turning on the faucet. She watched her solemnly, the focused look on her face, the way she furrowed her brow and how cute she looked- Wait what.

The scientist shook her head, looking away and becoming increasingly worried at the red on her cheeks. ‘What are you doing?’ She thought ‘She’s your friend, she’s a robot for Pete’s sake!’ She patted her cheeks in a fruitless attempt to steer the blush away. ‘But still…’ She looked over her shoulder at the robot, a small grin poking through. 

Unfortunately, adoring stares were cut short in favor of three loud knocks on the front door. Emira perked her head curiously, and got up, Viney had also looked up with a questioning glance. She opened the door, only to be met by Dr. Burns and a strange man she’d never seen before.

He was tall, had fair skin and dark, black hair slicked back nicely. Sunglasses covered his eyes and he rested his hands neatly behind his back, and was dressed in a beautiful black suit. She lifted a brow, directing her gaze towards Dr. Burns. He gave her a friendly smile, then looked over at the man standing next to them. He was reaching into a pocket on the inside of his jacket, pulling out a small, and rather cheap ceaseless phone.

“Yes?” She asked, crossing her arms. Dr. Burns looked up at the strange man, who shifted in place and looked down at his phone, it was buzzing rapidly and he nodded to the doctor, stepping off the porch to answer the call quietly. Emira was expecting anything at this point, they no longer believed Viney was a robot and wanted to revoke the grant, they wanted to work with her to make a replica of sorts, anything...Except what he uttered next. 

“We’re here to take Viney away to a research lab.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haha angst :)

Emira felt her world crash uncharacteristically. She blinked a couple times, trying to process what he had said as if he’d just said the most insane words imaginable. She shook her head and stared at him, mostly out of confusion.

“You...Want to take Viney?” She said slowly, raising an eyebrow. “My robot?” She narrowed her eyes, and Dr. Burns nodded. He offered a smile, and nodded, placing his hands behind his back “You’ve made a remarkable discovery, both in the human psyche and in the mechanical department. Your robot, Viney, is an almost exact human replica. You mentioned she has replica organs in your email?” Emira nodded slowly again, crossing her arms. 

“We want to take her to a research facility and try to replicate her.” He stated simply. Emira felt her heart drop to her stomach. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she crossed her arms “What, you want my research notes to?” She asked sarcastically, but of course the scientist in front of her didn’t understand. 

“Actually, that would be ideal.” He smiled as if he just scored a business deal. Emira furrowed her brow and she pointed a finger to his chest “What gives you the right to randomly appear at my house at eight thirty in the morning, while I’m having a nice breakfast and tell me you’re just taking my property?” She heard shuffling behind her so she looked over her shoulder to find Viney looking at her with an anxious, questioning glance.

She smiled, waving her off in a way to signal that she was in control of the situation. Dr. Burns tried to lean in, but she promptly shoved his head out of the doorway “Listen, Dr. Burns, you’re a nice guy and all but you can’t just come here and say you’re taking my property without plausible reason.” Dr. Burns seemed ready to roll his eyes as he brought a hand over to rest on Emira’s shoulder.

“Research for the greater good is a plausible reason.” He spoke slowly as if Emira was a know-it-all child. She smacked his hand off, glaring at him. Yes, she knew that it was a plausible reason, it was a great reason to take Viney from her but...She didn’t want them to take her from her. 

She stared at him, a challenge almost. Dr. Burns only smiled and took a step forward, and placed both hands on her shoulders. “Dr. Blight, I understand that you are attached to it-“

“Her.” She corrected, just out of spite.

Dr. Burns chuckled and backed off of Emira. “Surely, you didn’t give it genitals, right? I’m not going to refer to it as a she.” Emira’s face flushed, and she crossed her arms, but shook her head disapprovingly nonetheless. “You refer to her as a ‘she’. My robot, my rules, my pronouns. You give her that respect, at the least” Dr. Burns rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly.

“Listen, I get you’re attached to it, but this is for the greater good, Dr. Blight.” He crossed his arms, leaning in a little. “Just hand over the robot, and we’ll go.” Emira’s face flushed again, this time in frustration. She didn’t want to lose the only good thing that’s happened to her. 

She glowered at him, slamming the door shut. She waited until they stopped knocking and heard their car leave the driveway to turn and face Viney. She took that moment to walk over to the scientist and hold onto her arm “I heard.” She stated simply, Emira sighed and tugged her arms out of her grip. “I’m not giving you away that easily.” She walked over to the couch and sat down, rubbing her temples because of the headache that was now forming. 

“Why?” The robot came to sit down next to her “I mean...I’m just a robot, Em. I’m not a prize.” She chuckled darkly but Emira shot her a look. “You are a prize, Viney. You’re my prize for having to deal with those asswipes for five years. Not one signal invention of mine ever warranted a grant, ever warranted attention outside the concern of my mental state. Then I built you, just hoping to make a good companion to fill the stale silence of this house, but you turned into something so much better than I could have ever predicted.” She looked over at the robot, smiling softly.

Viney stared at her with wide eyes. She sputtered a nervous chuckle, and leaned into the couch “Em, you really are something.” She muttered, just barely loud enough for the scientist to hear. She hit the robot’s shoulder playfully. 

“Besides you make good steak and pancakes and I am not letting that go.” Viney hit her this time, and the scientist started cackling loudly. Viney kept playfully hitting her “I am not a nanny bot!” She managed through her own giggles. Emira grabbed Viney’s swinging fists and, trying not to giggle, said with a straight face;

“Do you want me to starve?!” Viney pummeled her shoulders again, leaving the two a giggling mess. Emira wrapped her arms around the robot’s waist and pulled her into a tight hug, mostly just a comfort for herself. Viney was hesitant, but wrapped her arms around her too.

“Okay you big weirdo. I know that dog dream was a lie.” Viney pulled out of the hug and looked up at the scientist “I didn’t want to pry but Em you’ve been acting weird around me a lot lately.” She said bluntly. The scientist’s face flushed, and she quickly pulled away from the robot. 

“W-What do you mean? I haven’t been acting weird.” She stated bluntly, trying her best to not stutter. Viney raised her brow and got closer to Emira, poking her chest in a teasing manner.

“Em, when you took me to the store to get supplies for a new project yesterday, you practically tore a random guy a new one because he said I was cute.” Emira tried to defend herself but the robot persisted “Not to mention, on the way home, you were being strangely clingy and holding my hand for no reason. Even with that in mind, you’ve been avoiding talking about this ‘nightmare’ that’s been making you so stressed lately.” Emira stared wide-eyed at the robot, like a deer in the headlights.

The robot came closer to Emira, which sent the scientist’s mind on a loop of panic. “You’re hiding something from me, and I don’t appreciate it, Em.” Viney stared at Emira expectantly, and the scientist stared back, trying best to save what little ground she was on. The stare-down lasted a good five seconds before Emira released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in.

“Viney, seriously it’s nothing, could you not prod?” She asked, in a desperate attempt to take back what little control she had in this situation. Viney shook her head “Em, you’re using me as a sort of comfort for something I don’t know about. If you just told me, I could help you better. I doubt random hugs are doing anything otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it so frequently.” She said, in a stern but soft tone. 

She stared at Viney, desperately searching for a way out but there was none. She chewed her bottom lip, but she relented finally, hugging herself. “I’m...Afraid. Afraid of losing you, and being alone again.” She grumbled into her crossed arms. “I’m not good at feelings, okay?” 

She felt a hand on her arm, pulling it out of the tight hug she had on herself. She looked over at Viney who promptly intertwined their hands, making a dusty blush appear on the scientist’s face. Viney came closer to the scientist and rested her head on her shoulder “You’re not going to lose me.” She muttered, squeezing Emira’s hand. 

She inhaled sharply then leaned into the touch hesitantly. She reached for the tv remote with her free hand and flipped it on, a random sitcom was on. The plot she knew nothing about, but one of the characters was cute, so she continued to watch it. 

It may have been because of the, surprisingly warm, robot snuggling up next to her, the droning conversations on the tv, or the fact she had not slept properly in three days, but she started to fall slowly into sleep. Everything was warm, and the room eventually became quiet.

And this time, the quiet didn’t haunt her dreams. 

The car was quiet, save for the radio that was mumbling a song. Emira leaned up against the car window, looking out at the road. Viney was humming along to the song, eyes planted firmly on the road and hands refusing to let go of the steering wheel. She nearly laughed at the serious look on her face.

Viney took notice, and shot her a glance “What’s so funny?” She asked, and Emira glanced over, taking hold of her hand. “Nothing, you just look so cute when you’re serious.” Viney chuckled and held onto her hand. Emira stared at her longingly, and Viney chuckled. “You’re cute when you’re being a lovestruck dork.” 

Emira blushed and looked away, chuckling as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. The robot next to her pulled the car to a stop in a gas station Emira didn’t see coming up. She looked over to see Viney getting out of the car, and Emira followed like a love-blinded lamb.

“You hungry?” Viney asked, swiveling her head to face Emira expectantly. She shrugged as Viney pushed the door open, stepping inside. Viney mindlessly looked around the quaint little stop shop. Shelves of quick snacks lining the easiest to see part of the store while the more everyday shop items sat in rows in the back. Half of the right side of the gas station was a small area where they sold pizzas and cheap nachos. She smiled at the simplicity of it all, and how much she missed it. 

She wasn’t particularly hungry so she lingered near the entrance as Viney picked out some crude, off-brand candy resembling Swedish Fish. The robot strolled up to her, and took her hand as they strolled out the door. Emira paused for a moment before making their short destination back to the car. She looked over at Viney, who stopped to turn and look at her with a puzzled glance. 

Emira tugged Viney a little closer to her. The robot rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around the scientist’s waist. “You really are a lovesick dork, aren’t you?” She asked, her voice lidded playfully. Emira shrugged and tilted Viney’s head up towards her, pressing their foreheads together. 

“Only for you.” She muttered.

Everything faded into a warm darkness, then into a muted light. Emira jolted awake, Viney asleep at her side. She stared at the robot for a long while, wondering if she was actually asleep. She ran a hand through her hair, which prompted the robot to startle awake. Emira giggled as she lifted herself up, still reeling from the sudden jolting. 

“What time is it?” Viney asked, stretching an arm that had been coiled around Emira’s waist for however long. The scientist swiveled her head around, looking for a clock she didn’t have. She looked around her again, trying to spot her phone, only to remember she had broken it trying to clone herself. The clone was successful for three seconds before it promptly blew up like a gorey firework. 

A loud knocking at the door promptly startled Emira out of her search for time. She looked over at the door, only to see that the doorknob was being aggressively swiveled back and forth. She felt an arm firmly press against her chest as a loud cracking noise erupted from the door.

The next thing she heard were heavy-heeled footsteps on the wooden floor. She looked over, panic just now reaching her head as she stared at two men, dressed in stunning suits, sunglasses perched on their noses and giving no emotion as they stared blankly at nothing. 

“What the-“ She was cut off when she suddenly felt that arm on her chest leave. She let out a startled squeak, watching as two men pulled Viney from her seat and pushed her out the now broken doorway. She stood up to stop it, only for the suited men to hold her back. She struggled against them, panic coursing through her head as a million thoughts dared her to try and stop them. Then a familiar face made its appearance.

“You didn’t cooperate, Emira. We need Viney more than you do. So, just stop struggling and let this end peacefully.” Dr. Burns gave Emira a wicked grin, and then everything stopped at once. Red filtered into her vision but she couldn’t do anything but scream a stream of profanities at them, and once her mind cleared a little she didn’t stop.

“You bastards! End peacefully? You broke down my door and stole her away from me! You can’t-“ Dr. Burns cut her off with a wave of his hands as the two suited men pushed her off them, sending her stumbling back a little. The scientist stared her down menacingly “We can and we will, Dr. Blight. You see, Viney is one of a kind. If I can replicate that...Well think of the benefits to society and the economy.” The two suited men stood next to him protectively, obviously to ward off any attack that Emira so desperately wanted to do. 

“I should’ve known it was just for money.” She hissed, Dr. Burns putting on a dramatic look of shock. “Dr. Blight, how dare you assume I’m only doing this for cash. I’m simply doing the world a favor. However we might have to strip Viney of a couple things before returning her to you. You see, we don’t want a robot that can…Retaliate per say.” Emira’s eyes widened, anger boiling inside her again. She had to restrain herself from throwing punches at this point.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning on removing her ability to feel or comprehend emotions, Dr. Burns she’s not whatever you’re planning to use her for, she’s a companion she’s meant to feel.” She spat at him, but Dr. Burns shrugged apathetically. “People don’t need companions, that’s what pets are for. People need services...Like jobs that are hard to do, chores around the house, etc.” He stared at Emira and smiled widely “Viney is going to be the prototype for a long line of helper-bots.” 

She watched as Dr. Burns stepped closer to her, getting within inches of her face. “And I’m afraid there isn’t anything you can do to stop me, Dr. Blight.” Emira’s red vision filtered in again, and she swung her fist, promptly hitting him. There was a loud crunch upon impact as Dr. Burns stumbled back. “You-!” He hissed, clutching his now broken nose. He looked at Emira vindictively before promptly swinging on his heels and shuffling out the door. 

She ran after them, but stopped when a suited man pulled out a gun. Finger lingering threateningly over the trigger as he walked out of the door hole. He kept it aimed for a couple more seconds out of the doorway as he clambered into a black van that had been parked in the driveway for whoever knows how long. She watched, defeated, as the black van pulled out of her driveway and down the street. 

Her heart broke pitifully, anger subsiding into waves of grief. She looked down at the broken bits of wood on the floor, and leaned down to pick up the one with the doorknob in it. She pushed away her grief to fill it with frustration and annoyance at the fact that she now had to spend precious money on fixing her door. 

However, even though she tried to occupy her mind with something else, hot tears still escaped, and she promptly collapsed onto the floor, leaning against her door frame as heavy sobs escaped.

How she loathed feeling.


	5. Small Hiatus!

Sorry guys! I just need a bit to replenish my mental health as I'm falling into old/toxic habits.

And don't worry, I am dedicated to this fic so I'm not gonna abandon it like I did with the last few (admittedly I didn't like the stories in those/just wasn't as connected to them, but science is my thing and I love fiddling with it)

As soon as I'm back from hiatus, do expect some frequent updates, I've already planned and written out the next chapter (rough draft), and I'm planning out the next three in advance.

Do note that I am in school so once I'm through with hiatus it might be until spring break (which will be in March, of course) for more frequent updating like the ones I'll have after my break. 

Btw I IMPLORE you to check out the person who inspired this entire idea on instagram, their name is bonkster.draws and they're the absolute shit :) 

Peace out, loves! :3


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